I like the idea of "thoughtful technology". Which doesn't mean that my son doesn't get to play with my iphone or ipad, just that I try (and sometimes more successfully than others) to turn the play into a conversation. Some of the apps below are better for that than others. And some of them are just better for when you need 10 minutes to get dinner made! I tried to include some favourites that cover a range of ages but we'd love it if you share some of your favourites on facebook or in the comments below!

1. Angry Birds Lite, free.

Villainous pigs and angry birds combine to make a hugely popular game that appeals to kids and parents alike. It's so popular that it's spun off into stuffed animals, t-shirts and even cake toppers!

2. Creationary, free.

How quickly can you guess what’s being built from LEGO bricks? A fun one to do together with a smaller child and a fun challenging for older kids, especially those who love lego.

3. Doodle Buddy, free.

Draw and paint with your fingers and then share with friends. It also lets you pick a background, you can even use your own photos, and then you draw and stamp all them! Parents can use it for useful things like designing a logo for their business.

4. Family Matters, 1.99.

This app is not a game, but it is be a sanity saver when you're waiting in line at the airport or at the doctor's office. It gives you lots of ideas for games and stories. Great for engaging the whole family. 

5. Fruit Ninja Lite, free.

You can wipe your finger across the screen to deliciously slash and splatter fruit like a true ninja warrior. This one is a bit tricky (and violent) for the smaller kids but very satisfying for the older crowd, which may include mom and dad.

6. Kid song Kwiz Game, .99.

A popular kid's song plays and then the child has to touch the picture that matches the song. This is a fun one to do with your kids and is great for motor skills as well as listening skills!

7. Peekaboo Barn, free.

Inside a little bouncing barn, friendly farm animals are waiting to pop out and surprise your little one. Try and guess who they are; tap the doors to find out! This is a great one for toddlers who are just figuring out their swiper fingers.

8. Talking Tom Cat, free.

If your kids want a pet more than you do, this app might be the answer. Tom is your pet cat, and responds to your touch and repeats everything you say with a funny voice. Children of all ages can occupy themselves for hours but beware, this app can make them very silly!

9. Super WHY!, 2.99.

Have fun learning to read with this collection of four SUPER WHY interactive literacy games. Your child can play along with each of the four main characters from the TV series: Alpha Pig, Princess Presto, Wonder Red, and, of course, Super Why, while practicing the alphabet, rhyming, spelling, writing and reading.

We love the market!!! I've been taking my son O to the market since he was a 3-week-old little lump tucked into the carrier on my chest. When we go now, 5 years later, I have to run to keep up! He has developed very definite ideas about what we should shop for and what we should buy. And generally after we shop a bit it's time to head to the rooftop terrace and eat some of our spoils. One of the new joys of the Seaport Market is the variety and fabulousness of ready-made food available. There are so many different options that I can't imagine that there's a single kid in Halifax who wouldn't find something they want to devour immediately, complete with finger-licking, lip-smacking sounds! It's my kind of fast food. I chose 3 establishments. Some are old favorites and some are new. I asked O to weigh in on how delicious they were and he decided to rate everything on a ten finger scale, 10 being the ultimate and one being, well... not so tasty! We'll sample some more next time around.

Cheelin
This is a definite family favorite and no trip to the market is complete without a container of Saturday noodles, a pork bun and "meat on a stick". I have found since starting to pack school lunches that pork buns freeze really well and are a great little package to substitute for a sandwich. Cheelin doesn't use any MSG and they use fresh, local ingredients in their dishes. On this trip we got a small Saturday noodles, a sesame ball and 5 dumplings.
Spent: $9.25

O rating: 1-10 fingers. Saturday noodles get a ten, dumplings get a 4 and the sesame ball gets a 1.

O says: "These noodles are the greatest thing there is". The sesame ball is just "a little bit good" (to be fair he usually loves these but the one we got today was particularly chewy).The dumplings tasted great to me but he was quite firm about his 4 rating.

Crêperie mobile
Another new one for us. I decided that something more dessert-ish might be in order after we heard that the owner has an 8-year-old who was astonished that someone might have a favorite that WASN'T a sweet one! We got the banana chocolate one. There are plenty of savory sounding options that look delicious though!
Spent: $4.00

O rating: 5 fingers

O says: "It's the bestest thing you can buy at the market. So you should buy it lots of times".

Wrap So D
Another favorite of ours. Chef D is reason enough to stop by, he's a one-man show while he cooks up the most incredible wraps I've ever had. We have sampled many of them with great success, as well as his pancakes. Today he gave me one of his fresh out-of-the-oven zucchini muffins with cream cheese frosting. He uses all local produce, the zucchini was literally thrown across the aisle from Elmridge Farms.
Spent: $3.00

O rating: 5 fingers

O says: "Really good. People should buy lots. You know how I love icing".

We had a great time sampling and O was thrilled with his role of food reviewer. What better way to spend some time together than by eating your way around the market? I'm anticipating that the next few meals I serve will be given the "O rating", hopefully I can keep it above 3 fingers!

Feel free to make suggestions for what our next Seaport Market picks should be!

The Seaport Market Information
1209 Marginal Road / Pier20, Halifax, NS, B3L 4T6
Phone: (902) 429-6256
Hours:
Saturday Farmers’ Market : 7am-4pm
Sunday Farmers’ Market : 8am-4pm
Wednesday Farmers’ Market : 8am-4pm
Friday International and Farmers’ Market :  8am-7pm
Website: http://halifaxfarmersmarket.com

This guest blog post is from Alex Smith of PlayGround Chronicles - thanks Alex for this wonderful post! What's your favourite playground or piece of playground equipment? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

This top ten list of fun playground equipment is a result of flipping through photos and memories of trips to over 30 playgrounds in the last two summers. It’s heavily influenced by the fact that our kids are in the under 5 age bracket. I’m sure a list made in three or four years time will look considerably different.

With Earl’s big blow behind us, there’s still plenty of time to get out and explore our local playgrounds and test some of these top ten pieces before the north winds have their chill effect. We’ll be getting a few more reviews in before shutting down until next summer. Next on deck are the Portland Estates playgrounds.

If you have a suggestion of a playground we should visit, we’d love to hear from you. Send us a note at – playground.chronicles@gmail.com.

For the list below, click on the photos to link to more photos from the same playground and click on the bolded playground name to go to the google map location. (Note from HRM Parent: Also check out our Playground Directory for more info.)

10.

This is the eggbeater at Caudle Park Elementary School. We haven’t come across anything similar. In case you’re wondering an adult can fit and give it a twirl.

9.

See-saws are few and far between in the playgrounds we’ve had an opportunity to visit. These ones located at Ocean View Elementary School, provide a vista on the harbour entrance and the Atlantic beyond – up and down with the waves.

8.

This is the Seussian covered bridge and bubble bay (on the flip side) at John W. MacLeod Fleming Tower Elementary School. A great little spot for an improptu disappearance followed by a back again taa-da in a bubble seconds later.

7.

Twin blue whale spring riders at Tallahassee Community School 1. When you’re taking two under fives to the playground, this is the perfect play piece – no ‘me first’, no quarrels, just fun.

6.

This is the fruitalicious climbing board at the toddler section of the DJ Butler Playground. This is a nicely designed spot for the toddlers that makes them feel like big kids.

5.

This is the beam me up Scotty tire climb at the DeWolfe Park Playground in Bedford. Adults – don’t try and climb up here unless you’re on the slim side.

4.

This is the retro monkey head slide-climber combo – a relic from the 60s or 70s at the St. Mary’s Boat Club Playground. I think it’s safe to say that this is a one of kind find in Halifax.

3.

This rollicking X-Wave² at Oxford Street Public School is a ride ‘em bronco treat that will leave you sproingin’ an achin’ for more.

2.

For small ones with a love for space this shuttle at the Morris Lake Road Playground with the Shearwater base on the horizon is a must. There was a time back in the 1960s when the space motif was a colossal presence in North American playgrounds. Now, not so much.

1.

Rounding off the list in the number 1 spot is a more familiar means of transportation. We’ve dubbed this one, located at Oxford Street Public School, the magic school bus. Our first time here it was a cracking hot day and the playground was chock-a-block full of kids and the bus was getting put through its paces. That day, we made the low, low budget short below. Our son Noah wanted to replicate on a subsequent visit. On that occasion we were alone but he had just as much of a blast on the bus.

Happy playgrounding….

All materials, unless otherwise attributed or credited, copyright ⓒ 2010 Alex Smith.

Today we have a review of Teach My Baby, written by local mom-of-three Nicola Martel. Thank-you to Christy from Teach My  for sending us the Teach My Baby kit and Nicola for testing it out! (Oh, and my apologies to Nicola for the photo below as it is NOT a photo of her and Ben - very sorry for any confusion! ;)

I'm always on the look-out for fun things to do with my three kids, but I must admit that my youngest (Ben) doesn't always get top consideration when I purchase new toys and games. With two older siblings, he gets a lot of hand-me-down toys. Therefore, I was very happy when Charmaine from HRM Parent asked me to review the Teach My Baby kit for her. It meant something new for Ben to explore!

Ben and I began using Teach My Baby when he was 18 months old (the program is intended for children aged 6-18 months old). The kit's materials come neatly packed in a sunny yellow briefcase. With four separate units - Self, Sounds & Touch, First Numbers, and First Words - there is lots to play with, and a short guide is included to help the caregiver get started. This guide offers suggestions on how to use each unit, and general hints to get the most out of the Teach My Baby kit.

I made a big deal of the kit when I first opened it for Ben. We started with the Self unit: I read the board book to him and we looked at the flash cards. Best of all, we stacked the nesting blocks and Ben knocked them down! The kit's instructions stress the importance of matching - the baby faces in the board book are the same ones on the flash cards and on the nesting blocks. Also, each of the items in this unit comes with a mirror. I showed Ben the picture of a nose on the nesting block, and then we turned the block around to see Ben's nose on the other side.

The Sounds & Touch unit provides another board book, two-piece puzzles (that Ben attempted to put together), and touchy-feely cards. Again, the animal pictures on the cards and puzzles match the animal pictures in the book.

The First Numbers unit has five finger puppets and a corresponding storyboard. Holes in the storyboard provide places for the finger puppets to poke out. One side shows the animals' bodies waiting for their finger puppet heads. The other side has a picture of a zoo for free play. The finger puppets make a repeat performance in the board book.

The final unit, First Words, offers another board book and many one-piece puzzles that double as flash cards. Again, the pictures in the book match the puzzle pictures.

Obviously, an 18-month-old will approach the kit materials differently than a 6-month-old will. A young baby will not be ready to put the puzzles together right away. But babies grow quickly, and soon she'll be able to do the puzzles easily. Until then, Teach My Baby offers colourful books, fun finger puppets, touchy-feely cards, and sturdy blocks to enjoy.

The kit's strong point rests in encouraging one-on-one time with baby and her caregiver. This is a special time, with stories, block play, puzzles, and finger puppets. It is a time to get down on the floor with baby and give her your undivided attention. Overall, the kit provides fun activities and quality materials that will help caregivers engage with their babies in a positive way.

Teach My Baby and Teach My Toddler are now available at Uncommon Kids Gear in Halifax & Bedford plus online at www.teach-my.com.

The following is a new feature to HRM Parent, a monthly (-ish) look at a local community centre or project that helps families in the HRM. Enjoy! And if you have any suggestions for centres or projects to be featured here, or would like to write for this section, please email charmaine@hrmparent.ca with your ideas.

Alex and I have played at the Friday morning drop-in at Veith House, a community centre in the north end of Halifax, from time-to-time over the years. The first day we went, back when Alex was three, we were the only ones there along with the friends we went with. This was perfect for Alex, since he can be quite unsure of new situations and people, and so a playgroup with lots of excellent toys for just himself and his dear friends was a dream come true! Alas, the drop-in was just too good to stay so empty and the next time we went it was bustling. Ah well, all good things and all that, heh...